THE number of people who read Irish daily newspapers has declined sharply over the past 10 years, a new report has found.

The report says this has not happened because of an increase in readership of British titles.

"The real problem is a decline in reading of daily newspapers per se," says the report, which was compiled by Behaviour and Attitudes.

The survey says the main causes of the decline are pressure on time and intrusion of othermedia. But, it says the scale of the drift from Irish to British newspapers is "perhaps less marked than might have been imagined".

It says the numbers who ever read a daily newspaper have declined by 12 per cent over a 10 year period. The number of "reading occasions" in a week has declined by 25 per cent.

The report, which was conducted for the Commission on the Newspaper Industry paints a bleak picture of Irish readership habits. Although circulation of Irish morning newspapers is slightly higher now than 10 years ago, readership numbers have fallen off.

The report says this has happened across all age groups. Irish, and British newspapers have retained their relative share of the morning newspaper market over the period.

British papers, primarily tabloids, account for just under one quarter of all morning papers read.

"The latest data on the sale of UK newspapers, published for the first time in 1995, suggests that they account for 27 per cent of daily paper sales," the survey says.

"The gap, relative to the share of reading occasions, suggests that UK papers have a lower number of readers per copy, compared to Irish papers.

The survey found circulation of Irish Sunday newspapers is currently 20 per cent lower than in 1986. It says this has been substantially influenced by the demise of the Sunday Press. That paper was selling around 150,000 per week, when the company ceased publishing.

"Readership estimates for Irish Sunday papers have fallen, exactly in line with the circulation trends," the report says.